Eventide Pitchfactor

[Kiwi]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]I bought this pedal used off Ebay for $400. I gave up trying to find one for less after looking for a long time but you can find them for as little as US$320 if you're lucky.[/font][/color]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]As always with complicated bits of technology, I refuse to read the manual citing the quality of the user interface as being the best way to judge the thought and consideration that went into the design of the kit. So I powered up and predictably I got totally lost...mainly because the function of the knobs changes with the mode its in. [/font][/color][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]It's a very, very complicated (sophisticated?) beast across all the modes and focusing on one mode at a time definitely helps to understand the unit more quickly and thoroughly rather than just diving in and learning iteratively. [/font][/color]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]There are various pitchshifty, tinkley and whoopy doo dah settings but I was most interested in the arpeggiator. I did a bit of knob twiddling just to see what might happen and got various changes from the unit which didn't lead to any greater level of understanding. [/font][/color]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]So I finally caved into common sense and opened up the quick start guide and it made a few suggestions to simplify matters a bit which I followed. [/font][/color][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]After an hour of mucking around I managed to get a pretty good grasp of what the Arp settings on the knobs do. Its quite old school in how the tones are generated and manipulated in that there are various generators of sound that are then modified for rhythm, attack, timing and speed.[/font][/color]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]You have a choice of two arpeggiators, you can add a LFO, filters and waveforms. The best approach to take is to set a pitch shifting pattern (up, down, up and down, and endless more random variations on that theme) and modify it with a filter which sort of chops the swoop up into distinct sections that are either voiced or muted according to the pattern selected.[/font][/color]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]I like how the knobs allow real time adjustment. I like how a more contemporary approach has been taken to the use of LFO's and filters. However I couldn't help but think that Eventide might have been better off with a series of LCD displays under the knobs so that their change in function could be interpreted more easily. Eventide already use LCD displays in their avionics products too so potentially have access to the expertise.[/font][/color]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]The quality of the sound is something I'm still zoning in on. The processed dry signal did sound a little sterile with bass. The Deep Impact works with it and the arpeggiation was pretty neat, especially with tap. Ideally I would prefer to have one tap button for sending tempo info to everything so may have to look into MIDI patching with the PF in a little more detail.[/font][/color]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]I guess the biggest issue I have is that the pedal is way too complicated for a tool. I don't buy into the inspiration thing or the musical dream, I just need the kit to do a job. This is one of the strengths of the Deep Impact pedal. Its not the most versatile pedal but what it can do, it does very well. [/font][/color]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]So I can't help that while the pedal is appears very robust, is fairly well engineered and capable of doing things with pitch shifting that would make you hope your Boss PS5 was over 16 and came from a liberated family; the marketing behind the pedal seems unfocused. [/font][/color]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]If the pedal is for tweakers, it might be better to release it with USB software interface to permit better access to the various parameters and time efficient mucking about. If it is for serious musicians, I think the pedal needs a heavy dose of rationalisation. Otherwise I think it risks being seen as an over priced toy for bedroom musicians rather than a serious tool for gigging pros. [/font][/color]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]I wanted it to do the arpeggiated bassline from Georgio Moroder/Donna Summer's "I Feel Love". Unfortunately there wasn't a preset that offered the right pitching, so i'll have to investigate how to create the right pitching as a user preset. However the 1/16th note rhythm pattern was. So I mucked about with that for a bit instead. Acccording to the Eventide forum, the pedal's arpeggiator function CAN be programmed but only via the MIDI port using cc messages. This isn't convenient for most musicians and to be honest, its just suggests that Eventide don't know the market for this pedal beyond a very limited demographic.[/font][/color]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]I[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]like the pedal but can't help but think that if it was less complicated and focussed on applications that had been done in songs we all might know, the pedal might have broader and more pragmatic appeal.[/font][/color]

[basexperience]

Hmm. Useful?

https://www.eventide.com/AudioDivision/Products/StompBoxes/PitchFactorUpdate.aspx